December 28, 2024-January 5, 2025 with Megan Edwards Crewe & Sam Wilson & Vernon Campos
What better way to ring in the New Year than with new birds in warm and tropical Costa Rica? Rancho Naturalista provides a comfortable and birdy launch point for day trip adventures. Not to mention veranda mealtimes with the birds and frequent cameos from some fantastic mammals. There was some anticipation this trip that we may be in for a wet week with a late rainy season not showing any signs of letting up. However, we were quite fortunate to hit a rather nice weather window and rarely had to don the rain gear!
Our first full day we headed to the highlands, ascending one of Costa Rica’s iconic volcanos, Irazú. Upon arrival at about 7800ft/2400m we quickly spotted two pairs of Resplendent Quetzals giving us quite the first post-coffee jolt of the day. Watching the males fly across a large gap with those incredible tail streamers was certainly a memorable experience for all. We then caught up with a much closer female for extended scope views. It was a whirlwind of specialty highland birds at the next stop near the crater of Irazu, with spectacular Volcano and Fiery-throated hummingbirds, a cooperative Timberline Wren, singing Black-billed Nightingale Thrush, Flame-throated Warbler, Volcano Junco, and a few less-than-expected Peg-billed finches amongst the many Slaty Flowerpiercers. Continuing on to Rancho, we broke up the bus ride with a stop in Paraíso and were able to locate some sleepy Tropical Screech Owls in a city park.
Our first morning at Rancho Naturalista started with a verbena hedge watch (verbena is a purple-flowering shrub and hummingbird favorite) netting us some great hummers, including Black-crested Coquette, Violet-headed Hummingbird, Green Thorntail, and our first looks at the incredible male Snowcap. After a productive early morning on the Rancho property, we made our way to El Copal, another mid-elevation reserve with a sightly different suite of birds from Rancho. The tanagers were a thrilling neon dream with Silver-throated, Emerald, Bay-headed, Golden-hooded, Speckled, Blue-gray, Palm, Scarlet-rumped, and Crimson-collared on full display. We also spotted some interesting birds of prey like Barred-forest Falcon, Bat Falcon, Barred Hawk, and Gray-headed Kite. A few stream-side stops were fruitful with Buff-rumped Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush bouncing amongst the boulders in one, and a nice look at an immature Fasciated Tiger-Heron in a broad flowing stream at the other. Upon return, we stalked the feeders from Rancho’s beautiful deck, amazed by the feeding frenzy of the hummingbirds. Listening to the wing-whirring past your ears, aggressive chatter and tail flashing of the many White-necked Jacobins certainly made you feel like you were a part of the frenetic hummingbird jostling for feeder claims.
New Years eve we stayed on property, sticking to the bird-rich grounds of Rancho. Starting off early at the feeders, we enjoyed the procession of wildlife visiting at distinct times of the hour. Just before dawn the Brown Jays shrieked a siren call that fruit was ‘on the table’. Next to come was a vanguard Red-billed Pigeon perched ready after the all clear. The antics of a large troop of Gray-headed Chachalacas was on display as they quickly mobbed the area. Gaudy giant blackbirds in the form of Montezuma's Oropendolas came flying in next, scattering some smaller birds at the feeders. Chestnut-headed Oropendolas, quite different with their bright forehead shields and dwarfed by the male Montezuma’s Oropendolas, made an appearance. We also got looks at the shy and retiring Orange-billed Sparrow hopping in and out of the vegetation for a quick bite. After a delicious outdoor breakfast, we walked down to Rancho Bajo, seeing a good number of new birds along the way. We had amazing looks at the flamboyant Purple-crowned Fairly and admired its delightful bizarre flight style, seeming to throw feathers in every direction as it sputtered around flowering trees. Golden-olive Woodpecker was a nice pick up along with a couple Checker-throated Stipplethroats, two Manakin species, Cinnamon Becards, two species of Euphonia, Golden-winged Warbler, Golden-crowned Warbler, and White-shouldered Tanager. Also, a perched Band-tailed Barbthroat (a type of hermit) was a nice surprise. We finished off the morning lower down near Rancho Bajo picking up a glittering male Garden Emerald, and scoped two King Vultures in a kettle of Black and Turkey Vultures. After the spate of lifers for many of the participants,an afternoon siesta was appreciated! We continued late in the afternoon at the hummingbird pools watching for birds coming in before nightfall to bathe. A few warblers, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Slaty-capped Flycatcher, Carmiol’s Tanagers, a Green Hermit, and a number of Crowned Woodnymphs, somehow still iridescent in the low light of the deep forest, made for an interesting mix at the pools. It was great fun later in the evening having a band and full holiday turkey dinner for New Years Eve. Rancho as always treating guests to the special occasion.
Up early to kick off our New Years Day lists, we headed for our day in the lowlands. A bit of a trek but certainly worth our time as it was a memorable day for birds. We had a bit of a laugh at an early gas station stop as everyone picked up their year (and only) House Sparrow of the trip. Pale-vented Pigeons and a flock of Olive-throated Parakeets dotted the tree tops on our way to Centro Manú, a preserve that highlights fairly regular sightings of Bare-necked Umbrellabirds. With the help of a Manú preserve guide, Kenneth, we scoped an impressive Great Potoo and enjoyed several Crested Owls on the trail, certainly competing for the most unruly feathered brows in the bird world. Yellow-throated and Keel-billed Toucans delighted at the feeders, and we spotted a number of the cryptic Chestnut-backed Antbirds amongst the understory tangles. The prize was in reach after a mucky walk as we spotted one and then two Bare-necked Umbrellabirds low under the canopy. Some of us spent about 30 minutes in their presence, watching for a good opening for photos and enjoying the ‘chase’ as these not so wary giant cotingas went about their business sallying for fruits at the end of tenuous branchlets. Needless to say, many smiles to go around for everyone that endured a bit of a mucky hike!
It was only a short ride after lunch to Cope’s feeders, where we were impressed by a new suite of hummers and all three species of Costa Rica’s honeycreepers. The owner of the property, Cope, has converted an unlikely urban highway stop into a mini-paradise for all sorts of creatures. In fact, it was hard to eat lunch with all the activity, and impossible to take photos with a long lens as most of the hummers and honeycreepers were within arm’s length! We enjoyed Collared Aracaris, more toucans, and close ups of Orange-chinned Parakeets and Russet-naped Wood-rail at the pond, followed by a woodland walk and stop to round out our owl list with pairs of both Black-and-White-Owl and Spectacled Owls. Northern Barred-Woodcreeper and Broad-billed showed well along the road. Finally, the Long-billed Hermits were seen at both lowland locations, perching and feeding for extended viewing. What a great day to kick off our year!
We spent the next day in the local area, first checking a few streams for a high-priority bird for many. We managed two Sunbitterns at the first stream, one flying up creek sporting its intricately patterned wings. We left for the Río Tuis valley, with some highlights on our 2 mile walk near a beautiful river including good views of Laughing falcon, Dull-mantled Antbird, Cinnamon and White-winged Becards, Thick-billed Seed-Finch, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and the distinctive and quite large Bright-rumped Attila.
After another delightful lunch at Rancho, we spent the afternoon at La Angostura Florencia, a manmade reservoir that hosts a good number of waterbirds and other critters. Megan picked up a Magnificent Frigatebird soaring high above, an unusual sighting this far inland. We also did well with some close comparisons of Green and Amazon Kingfishers, while ogling the large and in charge Ringed Kingfisher. A Thicket Antpitta serenaded us from… a thicket… and we spotted Purple Gallinule, Northern Jacana, Least Grebe, Anhingas, Neotropic Cormorants, Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, a few species of ducks, and nice looks at Bare-throated Tiger-Heron to round out the waterbirds. Slaty Spinetail was seen along the water’s edge and an Olive-crowned Yellowthroat popped up amongst the pond lilies and grasses. A rainstorm came through just as we were wrapping up for the day giving us an easy out to finally pull ourselves away from the birds and head back for dinner.
The next morning, instead of stalking the feeders, we made our way to the moth sheet early morning to see if any birds would attend to the insect buffet. We waited patiently as a diverse number of birds we had not seen yet came to investigate the digs. A couple highlights were Plain-brown Woodcreeper, Fawn-throated Foliage-gleaner, and our main target, the regionally endemic Tawny-chested Flycatcher. Some participants managed good looks and even were able to snap off a few successful shots of this scarce bird. After breakfast, we spent the morning at the C.A.T.I.E. botanic gardens, a special multi-use agricultural research reserve. Many folks were impressed by the flashy and unmistakable Bay Wren fearlessly hopping amongst some tangles and we also spotted a gorgeous male Painted Bunting, rare for the area. Among some thickets we worked on finding and seeing a singing Northern Bentbill, its strange vocalization to match its appearance, sounding (to the author at least) like a repeating space-station alarm. In the same thicket, a female Black-crowned Antshrike posed for awhile, even allowing scope-filling views! A wetland area and the adjacent grounds held some more waterbirds including a frustratingly close but obscured White-throated Crake, many Green Ibis easily seen in the grasses, and a nice scope view of a Boat-billed Heron. In a copse of trees just before departing, we found a number of the scarce Plain-colored Tanagers (living up to the name), and the contrastingly electric Scarlet-thighed Dacnis mingling in the same fruiting trees. After a lunch and siesta, we arrived at Casa Turire, a mix of open fields at the other side of the reservoir. White-throated Crake again eluded us, though one or two did get glimpses of this bird as it moved through the thick marsh grasses. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were seen in flight and feeding on a bench and a Prothonotary Warbler was spotted in good habitat. We managed extended views of the savannah/agricultural loving Gray-crowned Yellowthroat and pick up an Olive-crowned Yellowthroat in the pond vegetation off a reservoir dock. Two Giant Cowbirds were fun to see perched up on a tail snag, not too far from a White-tailed Kite.
Our last day was filled with travel but with new habitat and of course new birds! We sadly had to say goodbye to Rancho, but not before a delicious breakfast. Since we had missed Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow on our first full day down the street from our hotel, we made a brief stop at some coffee fields near a large dam and did manage some pretty good looks at this very localized Costa Rican endemic. We also picked out a second Mourning Warbler of the trip, a skulky warbler that breeds in the US and sometimes is challenging to see. Our destination for the day was Parque Nacional Tapanti, a vast national park not far from the urban metropolis of San Jose. Access is good on the edge of the park and gave us some flavor of the untouched primary forest within. We picked up high elevation hummingbirds like Black-bellied Hummingbird, White-throated Mountain-gem, and Purple-throated Mountain-gem as well as Prong-billed Barbet allowing for nice scope views. Golden-bellied Flycatchers, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrants, and Slate-throated Redstarts flitted around at various levels of the forest and Black-faced Solitaires sang their intriguing ethereal songs. Our next stop was at the Río Macho preserve where we had a field lunch. Most folks were stopped in their tracks by the beautiful and enigmatic Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher, part of the unique family Ptiliogonatidae, comprised of four species of very unique birds with unclear taxonomic histories. We finished off the day with Red-headed Barbet, both a male and female, the tiny woodcreeper Spotted Barbtail, Red-faced Spinetail, and good looks at Gray-breasted Wood-wren and Ochraceous Wren. The finale came in the form of two croaking Northern Emerald-Toucanets before we descended back down into San Jose.
We strive on these trips to make a holiday to remember, and Costa Rica is quite rich and rightfully celebrated in its natural history. The healthy, fresh, and locally-sourced cuisine provided by Rancho makes the trip all the more enjoyable, fueling day trips and good cheer. And of course, the unparalleled friendliness in country from lodge staff, local guides, and smiles from strangers on the street makes for a very welcoming experience beyond the birds. Thanks to the staff at Rancho Naturalista, our consummate bus driver (and spotter) Alex, and our guests on this trip for a cheery holiday!
Mammals seen on this trip:
Mantled Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata): On the last day at Tapanti we got a great look at a troop foraging in the primary forest edge
White-faced Capuchin (Cebus capucinus): Seen by a few on our walk down to Rancho Bajo
Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus): Hanging out in the lowlands one morning
Variegated Squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides): The common large squirrel at Rancho's feeders
Red-tailed Squirrel (Sciurus granatensis): The smaller squirrel at the feeders
Dusky Rice Rat (Melanomys caliginosus): Dark little mouse that also visited Rancho's feeders
Central American Agouti (Dasyprocta punctata): We saw them a few times during the day on Rancho's property
White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica): Beautiful racoon relative we saw a few times at Rancho
Tayra (Eira barbara): This awesome neotropical weasel was seen a number of times coming to the banana feeder (and generally causing a ruckus with the chachalacas
Neotropical River Otter (Lontra longicaudis): nice scope views of one of these otters feeding in the large reservoir at Angostura Florencia
Mexican Hairy Porcupine (Coendou mexicanus): We saw bits and pieces of one inside a hollowed tree at Donde Cope
Herps seen on this trip:
Green Iguana (Iguana iguana): One seen at the botanic gardens (C.A.T.I.E.)
Helmeted Lizard (Corytophanes cristatus): A family all their own, we saw one of these cool creatures at Donde Cope
Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus): daily on the walls at Rancho
Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus): One at the lagoon at Angostura Florencia
Strawberry Poison-dart Frog (Oophaga pumilio): A few hopping around at Donde Cope
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/316251
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/crh24bTRIPLIST.pdf
-- Sam